Bouley of Fire District 2 is officially presented with recall

After months of discussion, a petition calling for the resignation or removal of Fire District 2 Prudential Committee member Bob Bouley was officially presented to him at a special meeting of the committee on May 22.

Bouley was present at the meeting but did not wish to comment on the matter.

The petition faults Bouley for removing Greg Edgcomb from his position as acting fire chief “without any process, and in violation of the Open Meeting Law and the District By-Laws” and for refusing to interview Edgcomb for the role of permanent fire chief.

Edgcomb, a Dartmouth native, career firefighter and EMT, served as the acting chief for nearly a year after the resignation of former-chief Tim Andre in November 2021.

The petition claims that Bouley “has acted to the detriment of the district and [endangered] the safety of the residents and buildings of the District.”  

He will have five days to decide whether or not to resign. If he does not resign Fire District 2 will hold a special election. The resignation or election will be announced at a meeting tentatively scheduled for Monday, June 5. 

If there is a special election, it is expected that Paul Abrantes, a resident of Fire District 2 and father of a firefighter, will run against Bouley. Additionally, he has been a part of the effort to recall Bouley. 

The recall and its 236 signatures were certified at a May 4 Prudential Committee meeting. Eighteen days later, it was presented to Bouley. 

This is the second attempt to recall Bouley. The first attempt was presented on February 13. However, Bouley was on vacation at the time so the committee could not confirm that it reached him within 10 days, per the by-law.

Some district residents have feuded with Bouley and previous Prudential Committee member William Coutu over their refusal to offer Edgcomb a permanent contract.

The two committee members had stood firm, stating that Edgcomb’s salary request of $115,000 per year was too much for the district to afford.

Ultimately, the committee decided to hire former District 1 lieutenant Erick Turcotte for the job at a salary of $92,500 per year. 

In an effort to defend his side of the Edgecomb debacle, Bouley and Coutu requested a letter to be written by Attorney Anthony Savastano on April 14. It asked the Massachusetts Inspector General to investigate four issues of what was described as questionable conduct committed by previous committee members. 

The point of the letter is so district voters “can see what we ran into . . . [this letter] is a way for the people to see what has happened,” Bouley said.